Brighter Than Even the Sunshine
by uninformed
Summary: Yuzuriha meets a stranger on her way to school. One-sided Yuzuriha/Fai. Written prior to Acid Tokyo, and would have been set post-series. Is therefore AU. Could be a crossover with X/1999, if you wanted it to be. No spoilers.


A/N: written prior to the events in Acid Tokyo, and was meant to take place post-series, which obviously it can't now, so I suppose it's an AU. Also, it can be a crossover with X/1999, but doesn't have to be.

--

She walks past the park on her way to school every morning, and Inuki never leaves her side. So when he suddenly bounds off with the energy that only puppies possess, she calls out worriedly and eventually follows, more concerned about him than the prospect of being late to class.

She finds him curled in the lap of a strange man more pale than anyone she's ever seen before. The man idly pets Inuki, eyes closed and a lazy smile on his face.

"Are you from the temple?" she asks tentatively, though she's never met him before and surely she's met everyone who lives at her temple?

The man turns to her, and opens eyes as blue as the sky, "No, I'm just passing through."

"But you can see Inuki," and her heart leaps in her chest at the prospect.

The man turns his gaze to the puppy. "Is that strange?" he asks, sounding perplexed.

Eyes brimming, Yuzuriha shakes her head. "No, it's wonderful."

--

She leaves for school earlier the next day, racing from home to meet the pale man in the park where he'd promised he'd wait for her again. Inuki sprints ahead, and she turns the final corner just in time to watch the puppy tackle the lanky man.

The small part of her that fears she'd dreamt their encounter dissolves and she hurries to catch up to them.

She tells him her name and apologizes for not introducing herself properly the day before. He smiles at her and introduces himself as Fai. She thinks that his smile is brighter than even the sunshine.

--

She tells Fai everything. She talks about school and the other children; she talks about the temple and her chores; she talks to him about anything that comes to her mind. Within days, he is her confidant and coconspirator in all things.

He doesn't tell her much about himself, content to laugh at her jokes and comment enthusiastically on her anecdotes. Sometimes, though, he tells her stories that always star the same cast of characters: Big Puppy and Little Puppy, Big Kitty and Little Kitty. She wishes the puppies and the kitties were real so that they could play with Inuki. When she tells Fai this, he laughs and winks and says, "Maybe they are."

He draws silly pictures in her notebooks and teaches her simple magic tricks. She makes him paper animals and tries to teach him to whistle.

Yuzuriha thinks she'd like to stay like this with him forever.

--

Weeks pass and one day she runs to meet Fai and he's dressed in bizarre clothing like nothing she's ever seen. A long white coat flows around him, with intricate blue patterns running along his arms and back. He looks like he's dressed to hold court at a castle in a magical kingdom of snow.

"I can't stay long today, Yuzuriha-chan."

A terrified part of her mind is sure that this is goodbye forever. "But I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?" she whispers, afraid of his response.

His smile is sad and it's the only answer she needs.

"Where are you going?" she asks, tears blurring her vision.

"To a country very, very far away from here," he answers slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"Will I ever see you again?" she sniffs, brushing at her tears and trying to be strong. Inuki whines at her feet and nuzzles her leg comfortingly.

"Maybe, someday." He seems uncertain, so Yuzuriha holds out her little finger.

"Promise!" she demands.

He smiles gently and leans down to lock fingers with her, "I promise."

--

For weeks and months afterwards, she always looks for him. Even years later, when she's started middle school, she goes out of her way to pass by that park. Just in case.

Looking back on it now, she thinks Fai may have been a spirit, sad and tired and wandering lost across the mortal world. She wonders if maybe she helped him to find peace and pass on. The very thought of that makes her smile brighter than even the sunshine.


End file.
